Ckick It or Else!

Remember the PSA's and billboards you would see back in the late 80's reminding you to buckle up your seat-belt or get a ticket?  I know the majority of you remember and the rest were too young.  

It has been pounded into our brains, the importance of wearing our seat-belts and yet we still come across the occasional person that, for whatever reason, refuses to wear theirs.  If you are one of those people, whatever the reason may be, please take a second to re-think your rebellion and reconsider.  I am not worried about your adult self, I am worried about the young children's lives that you will be affecting, in a positive way of course.

As adults we set examples for those younger than us.  Even if you are not a parent, an Aunt or an Uncle; you do have someone younger than you that is looking up to you.

The simple "click"of your seat-belt can save lives.  If you don't care about your own, please think of your passengers.

We moved to Lake Elsinore about 8 years ago and when we moved here, it was so foreign to me.  I was used to busy streets, freeways and toll roads.  Out here there is basically two main roads and then a few smaller roads that will connect you with the main roads.  There wasn't much for me to discover.  I quickly found my way around the lake.  

When we first moved here, we both still worked in Orange County and made the commute.  It made sense, the mortgages were less here, we could get more house and still bring home the Orange County pay.  Totally worth it.   (my thoughts on what most people feel about Lake Elsinore will be another blog).  In the beginning, Danny and I did not carpool so we were both making the drive in our cars, separately.

I was a wuss and refused to drive Ortega and so I was taking the "long way" which I referred to as the safe way.  (hang in there, I do have a point.  Or at least I think I do).  

I took Lake Street to the 15 to the 91 and so on.....

What I didn't expect was the one day when I was coming home (while it was still day light) not long after we moved here and seeing a car accident that involved a Honda Civic and a smaller tow truck.  The Civic was wedged into a small ditch on the side of the road and the town truck was parked on the side of the road.  The driver of the tow truck was laying in the road, writhing in pain.  The driver of the Civic was still in the car and what I believed to be injured to the point of death.  

I wanted to pull over and help, however, I don't have any medical training and there were so many people pulled over, I just wanted to stay out of the way.  The scene bothered me for days until I could find the story in the local newspaper, announcing that the driver of the Civic had died of her injuries that day.  I cried that day for someone that I never met.  I cried for her family.  The accident report stated that the tow truck driver was coming in the opposite direction and crossed the line and hit hear head on.  It also stated that she succumbed to her injuries because she was not wearing her seat-belt.

I was not there and I did not witness the accident so I cannot say what happened or who was at fault, however what I can say is that it is imperative that we ALL wear our seat-belts.  

The reason I bring this up is because of something I saw today that frightened me.

I witnessed a Scion Toaster car drive by that had at least three, if not four small children crammed into the cargo area of the toaster (obviously without seat-belts).  How did I see this or know this, you ask?  Well let me tell you.  I saw this because the hatch of the toaster popped open while they were driving down the road, as the children appeared to hang on for dear life.

While this was happening, I was stuck in the exit line at the middle school and could obviously could do nothing but watch.  It seemed that the driver realized what was going on and pulled over to close the hatch.  

What bothers me most about this is that they pulled down the hatch and continued to drive on their merry way.  Those children in the back and possibly a few others were not wearing their seat-belts.  What would happen if they were to be rear ended?  What would happen if they were to hit another car?  Those children would have been hurt or could have died.  All as a result of the driver not buckling the kids in!

Obviously if you don't have enough room in your car for all the people you want to transport, then you need to re-think.

Do not sacrifice another persons life because you are being lazy!